How To Buy Bitcoins Completely Anonymously

As Bitcoin is a decentralized monetary system, it has a certain
appeal to hardcore libertarian types who'd prefer to keep their
money out of the government's sight and reach. But maintaining
this kind of financial anonymity isn't entirely straightforward.

Bitcoin exchanges, where you buy and sell Bitcoin, are often
paired to your bank account in order to convert your money to
Bitcoin as you buy it. And your bank account is obviously tied to
your identity. Let's go through two different methods for taking
your stores of wealth off the grid.

1. Cash deposits through LocalBitcoins.com.

LocalBitcoins is a
service that connects people seeking to buy Bitcoin with those
looking to sell, and vice versa.

For those looking to anonymously buy it, simply selected a
trusted vendor from the list of people able to sell you the
amount of Bitcoin you want. They'll provide you with banking
information and you make a cash deposit into their account. Once
the transaction's confirmed, you'll usually receive your Bitcoins
in a matter of minutes.

Here's an example. If I want $100 in Bitcoins, I search for
people able to accommodate that amount as a cash deposit. Here's
what the search results look like:

Screenshot

I'd probably use the first vendor, as his feedback shows over 100
completed transactions and a 100% positive rating. The
description lists Wells Fargo as this person's bank, so at this
point I'd go to a Wells Fargo with $100 cash and make a deposit
into the vendor's account. As soon as it's confirmed, I have
anonymously acquired Bitcoins in my LocalBitcoins account.

2. Use a Bitcoin tumbler.

If you already have Bitcoins that you want to anonymize, you'd
probably want to use a Bitcoin tumbler. Here's a scaled-down
version of the idea behind them.

If you and I each put 500 pennies in a jar and shake it up, we
can then remove 500 pennies each without knowing whose were
initially whose. Bitcoin tumblers facilitate groups of people
anonymously pooling their Bitcoins, mixing them up, and
redistributing them back to the group, usually minus a small fee
for the service.